In his resignation speech on August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon expressed his decision to resign due to a lack of political support, citing the importance of prioritizing the nation's interests over personal considerations. He acknowledged the challenges America faced and emphasized the need for healing and cooperation as he handed over leadership to Vice President Ford. Nixon reflected on his presidency's achievements and his commitment to peace, justice, and opportunity for all citizens, leaving with gratitude despite not completing his term.

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"Resignation
Speech"
The
Oval
Office
of
The
White
House
August
8th,
1974
President
Richard
Nixon's
resignation
speech

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The
Full
Speech
Text
"Good
evening.
This
is
the
37th
time
I
have
spoken
to
you
from
this
office,
where
so
many
decisions
have
been
made
that
shaped
the
history
of
this
Nation.
Each
time
I
have
done
so
to
discuss
with
you
some
matter
that
I
believe
affected
the
national
interest.
In
all
the
decisions
I
have
made
in
my
public
life,
I
have
always
tried
to
do
what
was
best
for
the
Nation.
Throughout
the
long
and
difficult
period
of
Watergate,
I
have
felt
it
was
my
duty
to
persevere,
to
make
every
possible
effort
to
complete
the
term
of
office
to
which
you
elected
me.
In
the
past
few
days,
however,
it
has
become
evident
to
me
that
I
no
longer
have
a
strong
enough
political
base
in
the
Congress
to
justify
continuing
that
effort.
As
long
as
there
was
such
a
base,
I
felt
strongly
that
it
was
necessary
to
see
the
constitutional
process
through
to
its
conclusion,
that
to
do
otherwise
would
be
unfaithful
to
the
spirit
of
that
deliberately
difficult
process
and
a
dangerously
destabilizing
precedent
for
the
future.
But
with
the
disappearance
of
that
base,
I
now
believe
that
the
constitutional
purpose
has
been
served,
and
there
is
no
longer
a
need
for
the
process
to
be
prolonged.
I
would
have
preferred
to
carry
through
to
the
finish
whatever
the
personal
agony
it
would
have
involved,
and
my
family
unanimously
urged
me
to
do
so.
But
the
interest
of
the
Nation
must
always
come
before
any
personal
considerations.
From
the
discussions
I
have
had
with
Congressional
and
other
leaders,
I
have
concluded
that
because
of
the
Watergate
matter
I
might
not
have
the
support
of
the
Congress
that
I
would
consider
necessary
to
back
the
very
difficult
decisions
and
carry
out
the
duties
of
this
office
in
the
way
the
interests
of
the
Nation
would
require.
I
have
never
been
a
quitter.
To
leave
office
before
my
term
is
completed
is
abhorrent
to
every
instinct
in
my
body.
But
as
President,
I
must
put
the
interest
of
America
first.

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America
needs
a
full-­‐time
President
and
a
full-­‐time
Congress,
particularly
at
this
time
with
problems
we
face
at
home
and
abroad.
To
continue
to
fight
through
the
months
ahead
for
my
personal
vindication
would
almost
totally
absorb
the
time
and
attention
of
both
the
President
and
the
Congress
in
a
period
when
our
entire
focus
should
be
on
the
great
issues
of
peace
abroad
and
prosperity
without
inflation
at
home.
Therefore,
I
shall
resign
the
Presidency
effective
at
noon
tomorrow.
Vice
President
Ford
will
be
sworn
in
as
President
at
that
hour
in
this
office.
As
I
recall
the
high
hopes
for
America
with
which
we
began
this
second
term,
I
feel
a
great
sadness
that
I
will
not
be
here
in
this
office
working
on
your
behalf
to
achieve
those
hopes
in
the
next
21/2
years.
But
in
turning
over
direction
of
the
Government
to
Vice
President
Ford,
I
know,
as
I
told
the
Nation
when
I
nominated
him
for
that
office
10
months
ago,
that
the
leadership
of
America
will
be
in
good
hands.
In
passing
this
office
to
the
Vice
President,
I
also
do
so
with
the
profound
sense
of
the
weight
of
responsibility
that
will
fall
on
his
shoulders
tomorrow
and,
therefore,
of
the
understanding,
the
patience,
the
cooperation
he
will
need
from
all
Americans.
As
he
assumes
that
responsibility,
he
will
deserve
the
help
and
the
support
of
all
of
us.
As
we
look
to
the
future,
the
first
essential
is
to
begin
healing
the
wounds
of
this
Nation,
to
put
the
bitterness
and
divisions
of
the
recent
past
behind
us,
and
to
rediscover
those
shared
ideals
that
lie
at
the
heart
of
our
strength
and
unity
as
a
great
and
as
a
free
people.
By
taking
this
action,
I
hope
that
I
will
have
hastened
the
start
of
that
process
of
healing
which
is
so
desperately
needed
in
America.
I
regret
deeply
any
injuries
that
may
have
been
done
in
the
course
of
the
events
that
led
to
this
decision.
I
would
say
only
that
if
some
of
my
Judgments
were
wrong,
and
some
were
wrong,
they
were
made
in
what
I
believed
at
the
time
to
be
the
best
interest
of
the
Nation.

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To
those
who
have
stood
with
me
during
these
past
difficult
months,
to
my
family,
my
friends,
to
many
others
who
joined
in
supporting
my
cause
because
they
believed
it
was
right,
I
will
be
eternally
grateful
for
your
support.
And
to
those
who
have
not
felt
able
to
give
me
your
support,
let
me
say
I
leave
with
no
bitterness
toward
those
who
have
opposed
me,
because
all
of
us,
in
the
final
analysis,
have
been
concerned
with
the
good
of
the
country,
however
our
judgments
might
differ.
So,
let
us
all
now
join
together
in
affirming
that
common
commitment
and
in
helping
our
new
President
succeed
for
the
benefit
of
all
Americans.
I
shall
leave
this
office
with
regret
at
not
completing
my
term,
but
with
gratitude
for
the
privilege
of
serving
as
your
President
for
the
past
51/2
years.
These
years
have
been
a
momentous
time
in
the
history
of
our
Nation
and
the
world.
They
have
been
a
time
of
achievement
in
which
we
can
all
be
proud,
achievements
that
represent
the
shared
efforts
of
the
Administration,
the
Congress,
and
the
people.
But
the
challenges
ahead
are
equally
great,
and
they,
too,
will
require
the
support
and
the
efforts
of
the
Congress
and
the
people
working
in
cooperation
with
the
new
Administration.
We
have
ended
America's
longest
war,
but
in
the
work
of
securing
a
lasting
peace
in
the
world,
the
goals
ahead
are
even
more
far-­‐reaching
and
more
difficult.
We
must
complete
a
structure
of
peace
so
that
it
will
be
said
of
this
generation,
our
generation
of
Americans,
by
the
people
of
all
nations,
not
only
that
we
ended
one
war
but
that
we
prevented
future
wars.
We
have
unlocked
the
doors
that
for
a
quarter
of
a
century
stood
between
the
United
States
and
the
People's
Republic
of
China.
We
must
now
ensure
that
the
one
quarter
of
the
world's
people
who
live
in
the
People's
Republic
of
China
will
be
and
remain
not
our
enemies
but
our
friends.

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In
the
Middle
East,
100
million
people
in
the
Arab
countries,
many
of
whom
have
considered
us
their
enemy
for
nearly
20
years,
now
look
on
us
as
their
friends.
We
must
continue
to
build
on
that
friendship
so
that
peace
can
settle
at
last
over
the
Middle
East
and
so
that
the
cradle
of
civilization
will
not
become
its
grave.
Together
with
the
Soviet
Union
we
have
made
the
crucial
breakthroughs
that
have
begun
the
process
of
limiting
nuclear
arms.
But
we
must
set
as
our
goal
not
just
limiting
but
reducing
and
finally
destroying
these
terrible
weapons
so
that
they
cannot
destroy
civilization
and
so
that
the
threat
of
nuclear
war
will
no
longer
hang
over
the
world
and
the
people.
We
have
opened
the
new
relation
with
the
Soviet
Union.
We
must
continue
to
develop
and
expand
that
new
relationship
so
that
the
two
strongest
nations
of
the
world
will
live
together
in
cooperation
rather
than
confrontation.
Around
the
world,
in
Asia,
in
Africa,
in
Latin
America,
in
the
Middle
East,
there
are
millions
of
people
who
live
in
terrible
poverty,
even
starvation.
We
must
keep
as
our
goal
turning
away
from
production
for
war
and
expanding
production
for
peace
so
that
people
everywhere
on
this
earth
can
at
last
look
forward
in
their
children's
time,
if
not
in
our
own
time,
to
having
the
necessities
for
a
decent
life.
Here
in
America,
we
are
fortunate
that
most
of
our
people
have
not
only
the
blessings
of
liberty
but
also
the
means
to
live
full
and
good
and,
by
the
world's
standards,
even
abundant
lives.
We
must
press
on,
however,
toward
a
goal
of
not
only
more
and
better
jobs
but
of
full
opportunity
for
every
American
and
of
what
we
are
striving
so
hard
right
now
to
achieve,
prosperity
without
inflation.
For
more
than
a
quarter
of
a
century
in
public
life
I
have
shared
in
the
turbulent
history
of
this
era.
I
have
fought
for
what
I
believed
in.
I
have
tried
to
the
best
of
my
ability
to
discharge
those
duties
and
meet
those
responsibilities
that
were
entrusted
to
me.
Sometimes
I
have
succeeded
and
sometimes
I
have
failed,
but
always
I
have
taken
heart
from
what
Theodore
Roosevelt
once
said
about
the
man
in
the
arena,
"whose
face
is
marred
by
dust
and
sweat
and
blood,
who
strives
valiantly,
who
errs
and
comes
short
again
and
again
because
there
is
not
effort
without
error
and
shortcoming,
but

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who
does
actually
strive
to
do
the
deed,
who
knows
the
great
enthusiasms,
the
great
devotions,
who
spends
himself
in
a
worthy
cause,
who
at
the
best
knows
in
the
end
the
triumphs
of
high
achievements
and
who
at
the
worst,
if
he
fails,
at
least
fails
while
daring
greatly."
I
pledge
to
you
tonight
that
as
long
as
I
have
a
breath
of
life
in
my
body,
I
shall
continue
in
that
spirit.
I
shall
continue
to
work
for
the
great
causes
to
which
I
have
been
dedicated
throughout
my
years
as
a
Congressman,
a
Senator,
a
Vice
President,
and
President,
the
cause
of
peace
not
just
for
America
but
among
all
nations,
prosperity,
justice,
and
opportunity
for
all
of
our
people.
There
is
one
cause
above
all
to
which
I
have
been
devoted
and
to
which
I
shall
always
be
devoted
for
as
long
as
I
live.When
I
first
took
the
oath
of
office
as
President
51/2
years
ago,
I
made
this
sacred
commitment,
to
"consecrate
my
office,
my
energies,
and
all
the
wisdom
I
can
summon
to
the
cause
of
peace
among
nations."
I
have
done
my
very
best
in
all
the
days
since
to
be
true
to
that
pledge.
As
a
result
of
these
efforts,
I
am
confident
that
the
world
is
a
safer
place
today,
not
only
for
the
people
of
America
but
for
the
people
of
all
nations,
and
that
all
of
our
children
have
a
better
chance
than
before
of
living
in
peace
rather
than
dying
in
war.
This,
more
than
anything,
is
what
I
hoped
to
achieve
when
I
sought
the
Presidency.
This,
more
than
anything,
is
what
I
hope
will
be
my
legacy
to
you,
to
our
country,
as
I
leave
the
Presidency.
To
have
served
in
this
office
is
to
have
felt
a
very
personal
sense
of
kinship
with
each
and
every
American.
In
leaving
it,
I
do
so
with
this
prayer:
May
God's
grace
be
with
you
in
all
the
days
ahead."
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